Houston Rockets center Steven Adams is expected to be ready when training camp opens for the 2026-27 season in September, and Adams himself says the rehab process is moving in the right direction.
The veteran big man missed the second half of last season after having ankle surgery in January, but on New Zealand’s Weekend Sport with Jason Pine, he said the recovery is on schedule.
“We’re tracking that way. It’s hard to tell with injuries, especially ankles.
With big dudes, it’s tough. In the books they write about (injuries), I’m not in there.
It’s more the average sized dude. We have to make some pivots and that sort of stuff.
But we’re tracking well. Our preseason starts in September, so it’s very close.
It’s an exciting year.”
Adams also addressed the injury in a separate conversation with Christopher Reive of the New Zealand Herald, calling it an acute issue rather than something that should hang around long term. The injury happened when he landed on the foot of Pelicans star Zion Williamson.
“The chronic damages that you could have over a career, I try and mitigate those as much as possible,” Adams explained. “But the acute injuries, you can’t do too much about that.
Mine, I landed on someone’s foot. It’s part of the game.”
The Rockets labeled the injury a severe, Grade 3 ankle sprain, and surgery was needed to fix it.
When Adams is available, he still gives Houston a real edge with his work on the glass and his screen setting. More than 10 years into his NBA career, he continued to matter in a big way last season, finishing with a +7.8 on/off differential that led the Rockets.
That impact has shown up in the team results, too. Over the last two seasons, Houston is 59-31 (.656) with Adams in the lineup and 45-29 (.608) when he does not play.
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